The purpose of the visit was to let me have a listen to the SEP and compare it against my Select SET.

As soon as the Taboo was switched on It was fairly clear that it belonged to the same family of amps asthe Select and from the hands of the same designer.

The Taboo seemed smoother than the Select,... slightly more... "polite" in some respects, however the signatureclarity of the mids and highs were firmly there.

The Select seemed to time slightly better than the Taboo, and there was definately more seperation betweeninstruments, more "air " around individual musicians however the actual soundstage was fairly similar.

It was an interesting enjoyable afternoon. To cap it all my "new" and second Select has arrived however ICannot strap them together just yet as I need some modified interconnects.

Incidently and Mostly for Mr Contents benefit, when i compare the 110v Select with the step down Tranny with the 240v Select I am at a losss to hear any difference between the amps. So I would not hesitate in buying a 110v with a £30 stepdown tranny Mr C.

Andy, what speakers were you using? and what source? just curious.That "air" you heard, could it be some of that "triode bloom"?I've had both amps in my home before - during the TABOO beta tour.I've heard the extra bloom you get with the Zen CS compared to the TABOO, but I didn't hear more separation than withthe TABOO - they were both about equal to my ears. Granted, my room is not very good - no room treatmentsin a fairly reflective room. Also, was there any difference at all in the tubesused in both, I mean other than their designations?

"Triode Bloom" Yeah i like that terminology a lot Brad LOL. Think thats probably what I was hearing.

As you suggest Brad maybe the room/ speakers were the cause of the different amounts of seperation betweeninstruments but the Select definately had more seperation to my ears.

Tubes were similar and speakers were Tannoy GRF Memory`s (not the most efficient speakers around but 92db so should be ok) Speaker cables were Mogami 2972. Not sure if it makes any difference but the Taboo was a new style one with the new chassis whereas the select was an older black chassis one.

You have to be careful when looking at GRF spec`s, Mine are the Memory versionmade as a tribute to the founder of Tannoy Guy R Fountain (hence the GRF)

The original GRF was supplied as either a corner cabinet or flat back cabinet and contained Tannoys Monitor Gold (red silver or black) Version of the Dual Concentric(DC) Driver. Mine are a derivative of this cone employing similar characteristics and constructionbut due to the complex crossovers are not as efficient. Tannoy quote 94db@2.83volts which I amreliably informed equates to about 92db/1 watt/metre.

Yep thats what they are Brad, but I am not a techie and really do not understand ohms, watts, and volts very well, but if you say so, I will believe you, It also makes me feel a bit better about their abilty to be driven by the Select too.